Tibetan and Himalayan Library - THL

Description: Do religious traditions produce emotions unique to specific cultural contexts? Answering in the affirmative are variations of constructionism typically associated with postmodernism; answering in the negative are variations of evolutionary psychology. Postmodernism and evolutionary psychology define the extremes of an explanatory continuum on which we can locate theory and research in religious studies. Concerned with both humanistic exploration of distinctiveness and the social science drive to find commonanalities, religious studies occupies a liminal space in the academy. The benefits of being liminal include the capacity to elucidate the nuances of otherwise unknown texts and traditions and to challenge the West with competing notions of being human. Among the costs of being liminal is our common failure to designate how we might be wrong. Nevertheless, I cite Spinoza and affirm the value of religious studies as a discipline that challenges those not caught "betwixt and between."

Means of availability:

Issues of the Journal of the American Academy of Religion are available online and in print. For recent (2000 to present) issues go to http://www3.oup.co.uk/jaarel/contents.html.